Heat men land striker from Lower Mainland
Sidrit Vukaj, a third generation player with a strong goal-scoring skill-set, will lace up his cleats for the UBC Okanagan Heat men’s soccer team this fall after graduating next month from Fleetwood Park Secondary in Surrey. More offence is on the way for head coach Dante Zanatta’s program after receiving commitment from Vukaj, one of the most talented strikers coming out of high school this year in the Lower Mainland.
Vukaj is usually found up front, on the left side, for his Coastal FC club team that he has played with since 2013. Prior to joining Coastal in the High Performance League (HPL), Vukaj was a part of the Vancouver Whitecaps’ PreResidency program for two years.
Vukaj has also been part of the provincial program, playing for Team BC from 2013 to 2016.
He plans to enter the Management program at UBCO and cites the quality of education as one of the main reasons for choosing the Okanagan to play and learn.
“I chose UBCO for offering some of the best post-secondary programs in North America and athletically for the highly professional atmosphere Dante and his coaching staff have established,” said Vukaj. “During the camp I attended in the spring, I was impressed by the professionalism of the coaching staff. I’m excited and look forward to contributing to the team.
“Happy to start my university studies at UBCO while playing my favorite sport.”
Vukaj’s father and grandfather both played at an extremely competitive level.
His grandfather played for a local pro team (Vllaznia of Shkodra), while his father played on his Albanian universities squad.
Sidrit has also received an invite to the U19 Albanian national team.
“We are excited that Sid has chosen UBCO, and chose the Okanagan because he had offers to other schools,” said Zanatta. “He is a footballer who likes to be on the ball and has a nose for the net with the ability to score from many different parts on the pitch. He is also skilled at setting his teammates up.
“We believe that Sid will fit in well with our program, the players that are here and those that have committed to us. Tom (Flanagan, assistant coach) and I believe that Sid will have a great career here at UBCO.”
The schedule for the men’s soccer team will be released on June 14.